05/27/2013, 00.00
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Pope: culture of well-being and provisional strip us of the courage to follow Jesus

The culture of wellbeing prevents us from being able to rid ourselves of our "riches", of the provisional and leads us to "fear the time of God" that is final. But there are "many men and women who have left their homeland to go forth as missionaries for their life: that is final." And many men and women who "have left their homes to create a lifelong marriage" that is "to follow Jesus closely! And it is final." The provisional "is not following Jesus," it is "our territory".

Vatican City (AsiaNews) - The culture of well-being and that of the "provisional" strip us of the courage to follow Jesus: the first because it prevents us from being able to deprive ourselves of our "wealth", the second because "we are afraid of the time God "because it is definitive. The episode of today's Gospel, the rich young man who Jesus asks to give up all his wealth to the poor and follow him, but who goes away sorrowful gave Pope Francis the opportunity to speak of the need to make an examination of conscience on the riches that prevent us from drawing close to Jesus

During the Mass celebrated this morning at Santa Marta, Vatican Radio reports, the Pope said that underlined that "riches are an impediment" that "do not facilitate our journey towards the Kingdom of God". And he pointed out: "Each and every one of us has riches". There is always, he said, a richness that "stops us from getting close to Jesus". And this must be singled out. We must all, he continued, examine our conscience and pinpoint our riches because they stop us from getting close to Jesus on the path of life". And the Pope focused on what he called two "cultural riches": the first, a "culture of economic wellbeing that causes us to be lacking in courage, makes us lazy, makes us selfish". Wellbeing, he said, "anaesthetizes us, it's an anaesthetic".

"No, no, not more than one child, because otherwise we will not be able to go on holiday, we will not be able to go out, we will not be able to buy a house. It's all very well to follow the Lord, but only up to a certain point. This is what economic wellbeing does to us: we all know what wellbeing is, but it deprives us of courage, of the courage we need to get close to Jesus. This is the first richness of the culture of today, the culture of economic wellbeing".

There is also, he added, "another richness in our culture", another richness that prevents us from getting close to Jesus: it's our fascination for the temporary". We, he observed, are "in love with the provisional". We don't like Jesus's "definitive proposals". Instead we like what is temporary because "we are afraid of God's time" which is definitive.

"He is the Lord of time; we are the masters of the moment. Why? Because we are in command of the moment: I will follow the Lord up to this point, and then I will see... I heard of a man who wanted to become a priest - but only for ten years, not any longer..." Attraction for the provisional: this is a richness. We want to become masters of time, we live for the moment. These two riches are the ones that, in this moment, prevent us from going forward. I think of so many men and women who have left their land to work throughout their lives as missionaries: that is definitive!".

And, he said, I also think of so many men and women who "have left their homes to commit to a lifelong marriage", that is "to follow Jesus closely! It's the definitive". The temporary, Pope Francis stressed, "is not following Jesus", it's "our territory".

Before Jesus' invitation, before these two cultural riches, let us think of the disciples: they were disconcerted. We too can be disconcerted by Jesus' request. When Jesus explained something, people listened in amazement. Let us ask the Lord to give us the courage to go forward, to rid ourselves of this culture of economic wellbeing, hoping in time - at the end of the journey where He awaits us. Not with the small hope of the moment that will no longer be of any use. And so be it".

 

 

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